The useful words to make friends with foreigners who I don't know While traveling, a lot of people asked me, "Where are you from?" I came to notice that "Where are you from?" is the key phrase to start conversation with foreigners. I am very shy in nature, so I was not able to speak to strangers at first. It, however, was boring not to interact with other people. I made it a rule to say hello with a big smile whenever I met other people and ,if possible, asked them where they were from. A lot of foreigners were kind to me and that made my traveling very fun. I want to know other useful phrases to start communication.